When your loved one requires full-time care, a skilled nursing facility is often your only option. In Florence, South Carolina, Faith Healthcare Center says it fills this critical need for busy families. Like most South Carolina nursing homes, you would not always know if your loved one has a problem with abuse or neglect. That is why you must maintain communication and monitor them closely while a nursing home’s care cares for them.
In nursing home environments, residents often sustain physical and emotional injuries due to staff negligence, abuse, or neglect. Problems often continue until someone uncovers the issues and takes action to prevent further harm. If your loved one suffers from mistreatment in Faith Healthcare Center or any other South Carolina nursing home, you need an advocate to protect their legal rights.
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We Hold Nursing Homes Responsible
At Hughey Law Firm, we have always believed that nursing homes must give their patients quality care and respect. When a nursing home’s abusive or neglectful treatment harmed our clients, we worked aggressively to make them pay for the damages they caused. In fact, we’ve helped residents at Faith Healthcare recover compensation when the facility failed to deliver an acceptable standard of care and left our clients injured.
Our legal team has investigated our clients’ cases to assess legal responsibility. We have placed negligent nursing homes on notice. When necessary, we have relied on the legal system to help us hold them responsible. We have done whatever was necessary to produce the best results for our injured clients.
Hughey Law Firm’s Case Results
At Hughey Law Firm, our attorneys have recovered over $180 million for our injured clients. We have resolved each case in a way that produced the optimum results.
When possible, we negotiated one-on-one with negligent parties and their insurance companies. We have settled cases through mediation, arbitration, court-mandated conferences, and other Alternative Dispute Resolution methods. When necessary, we present our clients’ evidence in a courtroom and let a judge and jury decide.
As each case is unique, we have never guaranteed specific results. We have always committed our legal team and our firm’s resources, and we have worked to produce the best case results possible.
- Nursing Home Neglect Settlement, $300,00: Our client sustained multiple injuries due to neglect and negligent care.
- Nursing Home Neglect Settlement, $350,000: Our client’s pressure sores worsened while under a nursing home’s care.
- Premises Liability Slip and Fall Settlement, $300,000: Our client sustained multiple fractures in a nursing home fall.
Faith Healthcare Center
Palmetto Healthcare, LLC dba Palmetto Faith Operating, LLC owns and operates the Faith Healthcare Center. The center’s website provides minimal information about its operations or services.
Dun & Bradstreet, HealthProvidersData.com, Faith Healthcare Center’s Medicare.Gov profile page, and ProPublica.org’s Nursing Home Project give past and current insights into this nursing home’s operations and performance. The website does not have a photo of the facility, but Google Maps provides a 360 street view of the location.
Faith Healthcare Center is a skilled nursing facility located at 617 W Marion St. in Florence, South Carolina. The location provides nursing home services for recovering patients, disabled people, and the elderly who require short-term or long-term care. The facility has 104 Medicare and Medicaid-certified beds.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Inspections and Surveys
The most recent CMS review assigns Faith Healthcare Center the following ratings based on the past three years of inspections.
- 5-star overall rating (much above average)
- 2-star staffing rating (below average)
- 3-star quality of resident care rating (average)
- Covid Vaccination rates: Residents, 93 percent; Staff, 83.3 percent
- Federal fines in the past three years: $650 on 4/12/2021 (report unavailable)
COVID-19 Infections
To date, the South Carolina DHEC has documented the following COVID-19 statistics among approximately 100 Faith Healthcare Center residents.
- 67 resident infections
- 15 resident fatalities
- 21 staff infections
- 0 staff fatalities
Online Ratings and Reviews
Online nursing home review sites often provide analyses you will not see in official CMS reports.
This sampling of reviews documents several adverse trends at Faith Healthcare Center.
- U. S. News & World Report gave this facility only three stars. Their report displays but does not include older CMS survey results that included other adverse issues.
- Womply.Com reviewers gave Faith Healthcare an overall 2.1-star review out of 5 stars. Commenters discussed unsanitary conditions, residents falling, and a loved one’s assault.
- Eldercare.Com completes its assessments using CMS data. The site gives this nursing home an A grade for long-term care services, a D for short-term care services, and a B overall.
Laws Governing South Carolina Nursing Homes
When nursing homes neglect or abuse residents or patients, they violate a network of state and federal laws.
These and other statutes provide guidelines for nursing home operations in South Carolina:
- South Carolina Title 43 – Social Services Codes
- South Carolina Licensing Regulation 61-84
- Federal Public Health Regulations, 42 CFR §483
- Guaranteed Rights and Protections for Nursing Home Residents
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control issues licenses and monitors the state’s nursing homes. They conduct inspection surveys at Medicare and Medicaid-certified facilities to determine compliance with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Guidelines.
These state agencies also respond when a resident or family contacts them about an adverse incident:
- Non-Criminal Complaints: Department of Social Services Adult Protective Services
- Non-Criminal Complaints: Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program
- Criminal Complaints: South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, Vulnerable Adults Investigative Services
Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Injuries
State and local statutes set the standards for care. Sadly, some nursing home residents still deal with injuries due to abuse, neglect, or negligent acts.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Preventing Elder Abuse page organizes the injuries by type.
- Physical: Physical injuries that cause pain, sickness, or impairments
- Sexual: Any non-consensual sexual act
- Emotional or Psychological: Trauma caused by humiliation, threats, or verbal attacks
- Neglect: Inadequate or improper sanitation, food, water, medical treatment, or personal care
- Financial: Unauthorized use of money or assets
The Senate Committee on Aging report, Uncovering Poor Care in America’s Nursing Homes, discusses elderly abuse in assisted living facilities. Researchers found pervasive problems in approximately 400 nursing homes nationwide.
In addressing these Special Focus Facilities, CMS acknowledged that most nursing homes have an average of six or seven deficiencies per inspection. These insights should serve as a reminder to family members. They must pay close attention to loved ones and look out for nursing home abuse and neglect.
Who Is Responsible for Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect?
Nursing homes control practically every aspect of a resident’s life. For both short-term and long-term residents, they provide housing, medical treatment, food, and personal care. This places them in the unique position of responsibility for patients or elderly residents in their care.
Nursing-home owners and their administrators also control or should control their employees. They become responsible when an employee commits an abusive or negligent act.
Their liability arises based on administrative negligence.
- Inadequate employee screening before hiring
- Inadequate or improper training
- Improper monitoring and follow-up
- Inadequate staffing to perform necessary duties
What Damages Can an Injured Nursing Home Resident Recover?
A nursing home settlement often includes economic damages, general damages, and sometimes punitive damages.
Economic Damages
Economic or damages cover out-of-pocket treatment and recovery costs.
- Medical expenses
- Surgical Costs
- Rehabilitation
- Physician expenses
- Physical and psychological therapy
- Prosthetics and mobility equipment
- Relocation costs
- Funeral and burial expenses
General Damages
General damages pay for psychological and emotional trauma related to abuse or neglect.
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of spousal relationship
- Diminished family relationships
- Lost bodily functions
- Scars and disfigurement
- Wrongful death
Punitive Damages
Juries sometimes award punitive damages under SC §15-32-510. Punitive damages punish a responsible nursing home for damages due to “willful, wanton, or reckless conduct.”
How Do Nursing Homes Defend Themselves?
A nursing home controls a resident and the evidence that proves they committed an abusive or neglectful act. To overcome this defense advantage, a family must first understand that an abusive incident occurred. They must determine what evidence they need to prove liability and compel the nursing home to produce their records.
At Hughey Law Firm, we have always developed our cases to overcome nursing home defenses. Our attorneys evaluate the evidence and rely on our firm’s resources to produce the best possible results.
Faith Healthcare Center Abuse and Neglect Attorneys
If you believe your family member sustained injuries while living at Faith Healthcare Center, contact us immediately. Our nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys have represented many vulnerable nursing home residents. Call us at (843) 881-8644, click our chat window, or complete our contact form. We will schedule a consultation, discuss your case, and determine if we can help you.
Charleston Office
171 Church Street Suite 330
Charleston, SC 29401
Phone: (843) 633-6877
Client Testimonial
“Thank you Hughey Law Firm! It was a pleasure to work with you on my case! From the beginning, every contact I had with your firm was professional, kind, helpful, and painless! I always felt kept in the loop, and important to you as a client. If you are looking for a personal injury attorney with integrity, I would highly recommend Hughey Law Firm!”
Rating: 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Karen C.
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